ELON – The Elon men's soccer team (8-2-5) rounds out its nonconference slate Saturday with a match against No. 15 Wake Forest (11-3-1) at Rudd Field. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
 
Elon vs. No. 15 Wake Forest Briefing
Match Details: Oct. 24 | Elon, N.C. | Rudd Field | 7 p.m.
Watch: FloCollege
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Admission: Free
Elon Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats | Game Program
Wake Forest Links: News | Roster | Schedule | Stats
 
The Wake Forest Series

• Elon is 5-9-2 all-time against Wake Forest and 4-7-2 since becoming a Division I program.
• The Phoenix has won two of its last three home tilts against the Demon Deacons, defeating Wake Forest at home in both 2012 and 2013.
• The teams last met in 2024 in Winston-Salem and played to a 1-1 draw. Colin Veltri scored the goal for No. 14-ranked Elon in the match.
• Elon's last victory against Wake Forest came in 2015, a 1-0 decision in Winston-Salem. This will be just the third matchup between the teams since that result.
• The Phoenix is 4-1-1 in its last six tries against Wake Forest.

 
Elon Storylines

• Unbeaten Streak: The Phoenix is unbeaten in its last 11 matches, going 7-0-4 in that stretch. Elon has not lost a match since Sept. 5 at UNCW. A win or tie Saturday would set a program record for longest unbeaten streak in a season at 12 matches. 
• Back-To-Back: Joe Taylor won consecutive CAA Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 28 and Oct. 5 after scoring game-winning goals for the Phoenix against Duke and William & Mary. The defender was also included on the TopDrawer Soccer Team of the Week on Sept. 29.
• Dom-inating: Dominik Renz has vaulted into the conference lead for both goals (9) and points (22) with five goals and 12 points over the last four contests. He scored his first career hat trick Oct. 6 against Guilford and added a goal against both College of Charleston (Oct. 10) and Longwood (Oct. 13). The reigning CAA Rookie of the Year has scored a goal in three of Elon's last five conference matches.
• Oscar-Worthy Performance: Oscar Tonidandel has racked up nine points in Elon's last 10 matches. The midfielder is second to only Renz on the Phoenix with 12 points and is tied for second in the CAA with eight assists. Tonidandel also has a pair of goals this season, with both coming from the penalty spot.
• Give Him His Flowers: Jahmir Flowers has already set a career high in goals with four in his 10 appearances this season. The senior is third on the Phoenix with nine points, another career best. 
• Goalie Rotation: Elon has rotated goalies throughout the season. Drew Hartman has started 11 times, including all seven of Elon's CAA contests. He made four saves in a shutout of No. 20 UNCW over the weekend. Mikolaj Lenarcik has made four starts, posting clean sheets in each of his two home nods. Lenarcik became the first Phoenix goalkeeper since 2015 to register an assist in the victory over Radford on Sept. 15.
• Nonconference Success: Elon is 6-1-1 this season against nonconference opponents. Saturday's match against Wake Forest will be Elon's last against a nonconference opponent. The Phoenix is unbeaten in its last nine nonconference home matches.
• Iron Man Streak: Magnus Jacobsen played the first 1,035 minutes of the season for the Phoenix before finally subbing off for the first time Oct. 6 against Guilford. The defender leads the Phoenix with 1,305 minutes played this season. The sophomore also has a pair of goals on the campaign. 
• Offensive Production: Elon has scored multiple goals in nine of its 15 matches this season and is a top 15 scoring offense in the country with 2.27 goals per game. The Phoenix's 34 goals are four more than the next best CAA team. The 34 goals have come from 15 different scorers, with nine different Phoenix netting multiple goals. Elon leads the CAA with a plus-20 goal differential on the season.
• Six-Seven: Elon's Nos. 6 and 7 are both having career best scoring seasons, as both Weston Jonke and Jordin Wilson have seven points on the campaign. Wilson has scored a goal in two of the last four matches while Jonke has a pair of goals to go along with a trio of assists.
• Captain Martin: Martin Kozak has six points in 11 appearances this season. The reigning CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player has two goals and a pair of assists on the campaign, including a penalty kick strike in Elon's CAA road win at William & Mary on Oct. 3. He was named to the Hermann Trophy Preseason Watch List in August.
• Dazza Delivering: Daire McCarthy has assisted in three of the last six contests, including in Elon's conference victory against William & Mary on Oct. 3. The midfielder also has points in four of eight contests after scoring his first Phoenix goal Sept. 22 at Davidson. McCarthy has logged the full 90 minutes in 10 of the last 11 matches. 
• Ben Assisting: Ben Madore has racked up six assists in the month of October to vault into solo second on the Phoenix in helpers. The midfielder tied Elon's program record with four assists in the win against Guilford on Oct. 6 and added two more against Longwood on Oct. 13. 
• Home Sweet Home: Elon remains unbeaten at Rudd Field this season with a 4-0-4 home record. The Phoenix has won or tied its last 18 home matches, a streak that began with last fall's home opener.
• Down Goes Duke: Elon earned its first ever road win against Duke on Sept. 25 downing the Blue Devils in Durham, 1-0. Taylor scored the lone goal of the match with Hartman pitching a clean sheet in goal.
• CAA Praise: Elon was tabbed to finish first in the CAA South Division preseason poll. The Phoenix also had four preseason All-CAA honorees – Martin Kozak, Magnus Jacobsen, Weston Jonke and Renz. Additionally, Ben Madore was named a preseason All-CAA honorable mention. 

 
Last Time Out

• Elon faced No. 20 UNCW for the second time this season on Oct. 17, playing the nationally-ranked Seahawks to a scoreless draw.
• The Phoenix became the first CAA South team to tie the Seahawks this season after UNCW won its first five games in conference play.
• The tie was Elon's third in a row overall, its longest streak of draws since 2017, and its second straight in CAA play. It was the first scoreless draw the Phoenix has contested this season.
• The result extended Elon's overall unbeaten streak to 11 matches and its home unbeaten streak to 18 in a row.
• UNCW finished the match with a slight 12-10 edge in shot attempts. Elon outshot the Seahawks 10-8 in the second half.
• In goal, Drew Hartman made four saves for his fourth shutout of the campaign. Elon became the first team to hold the Seahawks without a goal since NC State on Sept. 15.
• Four Phoenix field players went the full 90 minutes – Jacobsen, Jonke, McCarthy and Tønnes Daland.

 
Reigning Champs

• Elon earned its first CAA Tournament crown last fall, winning the title on its home field.
• The Phoenix finished atop the CAA South Division in the regular season to receive a bye into the semifinal round of the conference tournament.
• In its semifinal match against Campbell, the Phoenix exploded for six goals in a 6-4 victory, the most goals for Elon in a match since 2018. Six different Phoenix converted a goal in the match.
• Elon netted three more goals in the championship match against Stony Brook at Rudd, blanking the Seawolves 3-0 to secure the title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
• Kozak paced the Phoenix with eight points in the CAA Tournament, netting two goals and adding four assists to earn Most Outstanding Player honors.
• The Phoenix made its sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, going out to UNCG in penalty kicks after the teams played to a scoreless draw in Greensboro.

 
Scouting No. 15 Wake Forest

• Wake Forest enters Saturday with an 11-3-1 record on the season.
• The Demon Deacons are currently No. 15 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the TopDrawer Soccer poll.
• Wake Forest is coming off a 5-0 victory against Queens on Tuesday night which extended its winning streak to four.
• The Demon Deacons are 3-2-0 in road matches this season having won two straight away from home.
• Four Demon Deacons have double-digit points on the campaign – Jeffrey White (13), Tate Lorentz (12), Joby Reid (10) and Alfred Debah (10).
• White, Lorentz and Reid all lead Wake Forest with four goals apiece. Ten different Demon Deacons have multiple goals on the campaign.
• Ronnie Garcia leads the Demon Deacons with six assists on the season. White is close behind with five helpers.
• Wake Forest has a plus-22 goal differential on the season having scored 35 goals while conceding just 13.
• The Demon Deacons have rotated goalies throughout the season. Owen Barrett started their most recent match against Queens.
• Head coach Bobby Muuss is in his 12th season leading Wake Forest.

 
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